India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (240 page)

Hotel Palace Heights
If you’re in town with an urgent need to be in a very central location, and don’t demand too much from your lodgings, this is a great value, and considering its location—in the very heart of Connaught Place and just a 2-minute walk to the Rajiv Chowk Metro station—a good find. It is not however by any means a palace, and the only sense of height you’ll get is the view from either the restaurant or the rooftop terrace, from where you can watch the mayhem on the street below or the fairly ugly urban scene created by the surrounding Connaught Place buildings. Accommodations, which occupy a single floor, have been entirely refurbished in a modern, clean aesthetic: LCD TVs, small marble bathrooms with glass-walled showers, and fairly comfortable mattresses, all packaged in a neutral, pleasing palette. Windows, thankfully, are double glazed to keep out noise and have both blinds and curtains to keep out the light.

D 26/28, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110 001.
011/4358-2610,
-2620, or -2630. Fax 011/4358-2640.
www.hotelpalaceheights.com
. [email protected]. 14 units. Rs 6,000 double. Rate includes breakfast. Taxes extra. DC, MC, V.
Amenities:
Restaurant; bar; doctor-on-call; room service. In room: A/C, TV, cookies, hair dryer, minibar, Wi-Fi (complimentary).

The Manor
If you favor intimate, boutique-style hotels, this is a preeminently classy option, head and shoulders above the Hans Plaza, but it is somewhat inconveniently situated in Friends Colony, a smart residential quarter in the southwestern part of New Delhi. As such it’s a little cut off from the sights and shops, but the neighborhood provides a wonderful respite from the madness and traffic of the city, and if you’re in transit or only here for a couple of nights you won’t need to seek out dining options, as the little restaurant,
Indian Accent,
has an excellent reputation. Given the over-all elegance, facilities and gracious service (as well as a spirit of generosity typified with free airport transfer and Wi-Fi), and an intimate atmosphere unmatched by the larger city hotels, the standard rooms offer one of the best value deals in town.

77 Friends Colony (West), New Delhi 110 065.
011/2692-5151
or -7510. Fax 011/2692-2299.
www.themanordelhi.com
. [email protected]. 12 units. Rs 7,500 standard double; Rs 9,500 superior room; Rs 12,750 junior suite; Rs 18,000 Manor suite. Rs 2,000 extra bed. Rates include breakfast, one-way airport transfer, and Wi-Fi. Taxes and service charge extra. AE, DC, MC, V.
Amenities:
Restaurant; bar; airport transfer (free one-way); concierge; doctor-on-call; room service. In room: A/C, TV, DVD (selection of movies available), minibar, Wi-Fi (complimentary).

Shanti Home
Winner of the Best Bargain category in the 2009 Traveller’s Choice Awards (though it’s nowhere near as fine as either of the similarly priced, and comparatively luxurious Amarya properties), this addition to the despairingly small number of nonhotel options has fast become very popular, so book early. Hardly surprising: it’s both an ideal transit option, offering excellent value and super efficient airport pickups, as well as a comfortable, reliable base in the city. Aside from the clean functional rooms, thematically styled by owners Rajat and Sanjana, the well-trained staff is knowledgeable about city sights and shops. There is a lovely terrace garden which doubles as a restaurant and plenty of lounges to read, watch TV, or chat with fellow guests. With easy availability of all manner of facilities, we’re happy to overlook its slightly inconvenient location—half hour from the city center; the metro station is however, a mere hop away.

A1/300, Janakpuri, New Delhi 110 058.
011/4157-3366.
Fax 011/2561-9418.
www.shantihome.com
. 17 units. Rs 7,000 premium double; Rs 8,000 luxury double; Rs 1,000 extra bed. Rates include taxes and breakfast. MC, V.
Amenities:
1 restaurant; bar; airport transfer (Rs 500); concierge; currency exchange; doctor-on-call; complimentary laptop in lounge; ayurvedic massage; room service; steam; TV in lounge. In room: A/C, minibar (on request); Wi-Fi (complimentary).

Inexpensive

Delhi Bed and Breakfast
This is an excellent homestay-style option if you don’t mind being a little way out of the center. Besides a comfortable, homey bedroom (with fresh flowers, back-supporting foam mattresses, and plenty of cupboard space) and the option of regular home-cooked meals (served in a tiny family dining room), you’ll have access to the advice, assistance, and lively repartee of your enthusiastic and hands-on host, Sheikh Pervez Hameed, who can hook you up with good guides, taxis, and all sorts of tours; his wife, Lubna, will even take you shopping. The nearby commercial center also has dozens of restaurants and bars. Bear in mind that you’ll be in a fairly busy neighborhood: Traffic sounds are never far away. But you get to live like a pampered local: Have the family barber summoned for a trim or escape to a plant-dappled terrace and meditate on suburbia.